The relationship between the US and Pakistan is back on track. Musically speaking, that is. ...a series of joint concerts here by an American jazz band and a Pakistani soft-rock group demonstrated that in nonpolitical spheres the two countries can have a productive and at times - does one dare say it? - harmonious relationship.

The jazz quartet from New York City arrived in Pakistan about two weeks ago for a series of concerts and music classes with local musicians. The trip culminated with a live recording of a “friendship song” with a Pakistani rock band during a concert Tuesday night.

There is something fundamentally wrong with US public diplomacy when it comes to Pakistan. Our most distinguished frequent diplomatic interlocutors from Washington are not State Department officials but hardcore senior officials and military commanders...

Hosting a concert by the shores of Rawal Lake, the US embassy brought together America's "Ari Roland Jazz Quartet" and Pakistani rock band "Fuzon", capping the night with the "world premiere" of a special friendship song.

Written long before the emergence of the Taliban, "The Wandering Falcon" moves far beyond the Western media's stereotypical depiction of the tribal areas and lays bare the nature of a place that is now a focal point of U.S. and European foreign policy.

“Across the world, bridges of understanding strain under the weight of intolerance and polarization.” He told the meeting that promoting dialogue and understanding has long been considered a form of ‘soft power’ because it brings about change slowly, without military action.

The CSCC contains the germ of government-wide coordination in public diplomacy...If properly developed and meshed with the “hard power” tools of U.S. counterterrorism strategy, it could represent a clear advance in the battle for the hearts and minds of Muslims.